In a move that seemingly came out of nowhere, Torres “quit” the WWE after dropping the Divas Championship to Kaitlyn on Raw last week in what was another case of a real-life situation being turned into a storyline.

Torres’ decision to part ways with the WWE was just the latest blow to a Divas division that seems to be getting thinner by the second.

Over the course of the last year, so many Divas have parted ways with the WWE that it’s almost hard to keep count. Kharma, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix and the Bella Twins are perhaps the most notable names to move on from the company to pursue other endeavors.

Torres is just the latest female performer to decide to leave the WWE, and now, the Divas division is at an all-time low.

After all, Torres was arguably the most important Diva in the WWE over the course of 2012.

While it was AJ Lee who was involved in the most high-profile angles last year, these were usually romance storylines, and she largely stayed away from the Divas Championship. Torres, on the other hand, did a little bit of both.

She played a substantial role in the “embrace the hate" angle at the beginning of the year, which ultimately led to her much-needed heel turn and her evolvement into (along with Lee) one of the most intriguing female characters the WWE has had in years.

The creative team put more effort into booking Torres’ character than it typically does for its female performers, and it showed.

Despite long being labeled only an average Diva, Torres spent 2012 becoming the shining star of the Divas division—a direct result of creative’s new-found confidence in her, her well-executed heel turn and her great performances in her new role.

But now, she’s gone, and of the all the recent Divas departures, this one hurts the most.

That’s not necessarily because Torres is the best overall performer of all the Divas who have recently left the WWE. That distinction probably belongs to Phoenix.

It’s just that when the Bellas left, there were still marketable top Divas—like Phoenix, Kelly Kelly and Torres—left to soften the blow. But then, Kelly Kelly and Phoenix left, leaving Torres as the most experienced Diva that the company has actually been willing to push.

That’s what Torres brought to the Divas division, after all: experience.

AJ Lee may have gotten really over with the crowd last year, but other than her time on NXT, she’s had very few matches on WWE TV—instead being more of a TV character than an actual wrestler.

There are other Divas, like Natalya, who are very experienced and talented as well. But the WWE has been too busy saddling her with horrible storylines to give her any type of real push.

Now, when you subtract AJ and the underutilized Natalya from the equation, the Divas division is remarkably inexperienced.

Which recent Diva departure has hurt the WWE the most?

Which recent Diva departure has hurt the WWE the most?

Kharma

13.4%

Bella Twins

4.6%

Kelly Kelly

23.6%

Beth Phoenix

26.4%

Eve Torres

32.1%

Total votes: 1,392

Divas champion Kaitlyn, TaminaSnuka, Aksana and even Alicia Fox haven’t been around very long nor have they had a ton of TV matches, and although Layla is the most experienced of the bunch these days, she still leaves a lot to be desired as both a character and a wrestler.

When you consider that the Divas division only features a handful of rather inexperienced performers, it’s hard not to miss Torres.

She certainly won’t go down as the greatest Diva ever, but she evolved into a really good performer in 2012, both as a character and wrestler. What’s more important is that she stepped up at a time when the WWE needed her more than ever.

Torres may never have been as popular as Kelly Kelly, as mainstream as the Bellas or as talented as Phoenix, but she made the most of what talents she did have and stepped up as the WWE’s top Diva when someone had to.

A year ago, not many fans would have missed Torres if she decided to walk away from the WWE.

But today? She’s the missing piece from a Divas division that looks lost without her.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!